Busting Brackets
Fansided

AAC Basketball: Preseason rankings for 2019-20 season

By Pan Karalis

ORLANDO, FL - MARCH 11: during the final game of the 2018 AAC Basketball Championship against at Amway Center on March 11, 2018 in Orlando, Florida. (Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images) *** Local Caption ***
ORLANDO, FL - MARCH 11: during the final game of the 2018 AAC Basketball Championship against at Amway Center on March 11, 2018 in Orlando, Florida. (Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** /
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ORLANDO, FLORIDA – NOVEMBER 25: Penny Hardaway, head coach of the Memphis Tigers, watches the action during the game against the Charleston Cougars at HP Field House on November 25, 2018 in Orlando, Florida. (Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)
ORLANDO, FLORIDA – NOVEMBER 25: Penny Hardaway, head coach of the Memphis Tigers, watches the action during the game against the Charleston Cougars at HP Field House on November 25, 2018 in Orlando, Florida. (Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images) /

Tigers . 2. team. 451. . .

When I first hobbled this list together last month, I thought this ranking was going to be something shouted down by everyone outside of Houston. A dark horse national title contender with the top recruiting class in the country, welcoming a group of five-star freshmen that could make Calipari blush finishing second in the American was about as hot a take as I thought I had up my sleeve this off-season.

As it turns out, the conference’s coaches also favor Houston, if only by way of a technicality. It’s hard to break down a roster of mostly freshmen, players who haven’t done anything at this level, but welcoming the top-rated recruiting class in the country is about as enough as you might need to know about this Tigers team. James Wiseman has been the early favorite as the top pick in the 2020 NBA draft since well before his commitment to Penny Hardaway and Memphis, and Precious Achiuwa also figures to go in the first round this coming June.

Their less-heralded incoming recruits, guys like Boogie Ellis, Damian Baugh, Malcolm Dandridge, would be generational players at most other AAC schools. And that’s not to mention sophomores Tyler Harris and Alex Lomax, a couple of returning guards that can compete with anyone in the conference.

Bottom line, Memphis is really, really good. But I need to see what Penny and this inexperienced lineup can do before I’m going to pick them to dethrone Houston